Last night was the Gala, the second act of Down Home Ranch’s
big annual fundraising weekend.
Friday was brisk, clear, and breezy, but not too much so for
a great day on the golf course. About
130 golfers played, or played at, 18 holes on the beautiful Avery Ranch course. All went off without a hitch, according to
those who should know.Saturday dawned cloudy and chilly, and we had all day to get ready for the Gala, held at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. The Lt. Governor’s widow, Jan, graciously served as our honorary chair of the event, although she was unable to attend in person. Still, it was very special looking around the beautiful interior, all decked out for our gala, and knowing we had her blessing for this event.
The gala followed weeks of meetings and reviews of the “run
of show.” Kristin and Andrea were ready
at the payment table, and Kristin’s twin sister Krystal, their mom, and Casey
held down the reception desk.
Seventy or so items were laid out for inspection with their
bid sheets in the silent auction area, and the catering lines were ready to
go. Jerry fretted about my speech (but
not his).
We conferred with Andrew, the auctioneer/MC, on last
minute details before getting ready to launch the serious part of the evening:
matching a $100,000 challenge grant from the Still Water Foundation of Austin.
Then a most delightful cog slipped in our well-oiled
machine... A dear friend of the Ranch surreptitiously handed us a letter outlining a complex offer to match dollar for dollar the first pledge of $10,000 made that night, and also the first pledge of $5,000. After that he would pledge $2,500 for each pledge of either up to a personal investment of $50,000.
He wished to remain anonymous.
When it was time for the “Paddles Up” portion of the
evening, Andrew played the video prepared for the evening—a lovely short piece
consisting of clips of our Ranchers at their work. Then I stood to prep the audience for the
evening’s ask.
I led off with an overview of the importance of our work
program to our Ranchers. Fees for
service paid by Medicaid funds cover housing, food, and staffing, but although
there is expectation imposed for some sort of day program for the “consumers” receiving
services from the state, there is no money to support such a program.
That’s why so many adults with intellectual disabilities sit
around coloring or sitting on the couch watching TV.
But we’d figured from the outset that a Ranch setting was
one with a skill level for everyone, and there was no reason at all that our
Ranchers would be unable to contribute substantially to the work of the Ranch—from
birthing calves to working in the kitchen.
That’s what we’ve always worked toward, even though frankly it would be
cheaper to hire people who already know how to do these things rather than
train our Ranchers to.
And now the grant from the Still Water Foundation would
enable us to take a gigantic leap into the future, if all went well.
So I spoke a little about the importance of work for
everyone, how it puts our Ranchers on an even footing with the rest of the
world to have a job, be good at it, and earn a paycheck in the process.
I had Mike Larcher stand up, and told about his pride in
scooping horse poop, even to the point of proudly proclaiming one morning to
me, “Look, Judy, they made more!” The
little story got a laugh, as I knew it would, and Mike stood and beamed.
Then I mentioned our chickens, and how they were supplying
the whole Ranch with eggs to consume, and eggs to sell. “They’re laying 90 eggs a day now,” I said
proudly.
Then way back in the crowd, a familiar figure stands
up. It’s King, aka the “egg man,” who
cares for the chickens, even driving down nightly after supper in his golf cart
to lock them up safely for the night.
“They’re not laying 90 eggs a day, Judy,” he admonished
sternly. “They’re laying 100 eggs a day!”
The crowd laughed and applauded.
Then it was time for Paddles Up.
We knew there would be a $10,000 pledge, because we were
prepared to make one. We recently sold
our condo in Austin and figured it could serve as part of our tithe, so Kelly
was all set with our bid paddle to pop up when Andrew called for a $10,000
pledge.
Oops, a man at the next table, a fellow parent of a child at
DHR, surprised us! His was the $10,000
matched by our generous benefactor. Ours
was the next and last.
Then at the next table, a dear friend pledged $5,000. Swiftly following that, pledges were taken
for progressively smaller amounts (but which, of course, mounted up in higher
numbers).
Our good friend who’d pledged the $5,000, possessed of a
puckish sense of humor, began “matching” the pledges coming in with a
quarter. It got a laugh each time.
But then something magical happened. The Ranchers in the audience, seeing that
Andrew was accepting 25 cent pledges, realized that they, too, must be in the
running, and began bringing their quarters and dollars (and even a silver
dollar coin!) to Andrew.
This was nothing we could have, or ever would have, planned.
Our puckish friend was engaged in a little mischief. But our Ranchers were acting in dead earnest
to meet our goal.
I leaned to a table mate and whispered, “We’re seeing the
widow’s mite in action.” With tears in
my eyes, I admit.
By the end of this glorious evening, we, and friends
assembled, had met the $100,000 match dollar for dollar, with funds left over,
thanks to our Ranchers.
After that, it was party time, as we danced everything from
the conga line to the hokey pokey to the great music of the Aristocrats. Usually it’s our Ranchers who dominate the
dance floor, but last night twice as many guests as usual joined in the fun.
I heaved a sigh of relief and made some lame jokes about
attending someone else’s gala so I could have fun and relax, eat, and buy
things at the silent auction—none of which I’d done at ours.
But that’s ok. I
witnessed the hearts and souls of our Ranchers in action, and saw clearly that
they understand what we’re all trying to do together, they get it, and they
want it.
And no event could deliver more than that.
